Government to increase inspections in the municipalities with the highest incidence of Covid-19

The Prime Minister has announced, having met with the Mayors of the seven high risk Portugal municipalities by video conference, that inspection by security forces will be reinforced in those municipalities with the highest incidence of cases of Covid-19.

The seven municipalities that registered more than 240 cases of Covid-19 per one hundred thousand inhabitants in the last 15 days are Alandroal, Carregal do Sal, Moura, Odemira, Portimão, Ribeira de Pena and Rio Maior.

According to the Prime Minister, in relation to the covid-19 outbreaks that occur in these municipalities, there is a “common pattern”. In most cases, the origin of the outbreaks lies in “the concentration of people, in precarious and temporary housing associated with large public works or groups, or even those working in industrial units that use local housing”.

“We will articulate specific actions by the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT), together with the public health authorities, with a view to creating better sanitary conditions in these places of residence and, also, to develop massive testing actions in cases in which they are not in progress. It is necessary to detect infected people and break the transmission chains “, declared António Costa.

In the specific case of agriculture, the Prime Minister said that, in partnership with producer organizations, there will be preventive work, with the dissemination of “good practices and testing”, taking into account the harvest calendar, which is now starting and will continue until the harvest period.

In addition, the Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, said “it was established that, in the next 15 days, there will be a reinforcement of the number of GNR or PSP in the 20 municipalities with more than 120 cases of Covid-19 per hundred thousand inhabitants in the last 15 days. “

“Inspection actions will be reinforced”, stressed António Costa.

At the press conference, the Prime Minister left an appeal to employers to organise working conditions “the best possible way”, by testing their workers and monitoring the health situation of each one.

“But I also appeal to workers to be extremely careful in the use of personal protective equipment. It is essential that when stopping, namely at meal times, social distancing rules are respected to avoid increased contamination risks”, he added.

At the press conference, the Prime Minister was asked if deconfinement in different areas of Portugal may be carried out at various speeds. “We always have to analyze case by case, because not all correspond to the same situation” he said, “It is necessary to check if an outbreak in a municipality is widespread in the community or if it is concentrated in a particular site. This information is above all very useful to define the way of acting”, he said.

“With the exception of measures that relate to the functioning of the school year, which have a national scope, all other restriction measures must be applied at the local level.” he added.

Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/